NCIF provides $250,000 in financing for First Fruits Beverage Company in Marion, VA

With the help of financing from NCIF and New Peoples Bank, First Fruits Beverage Company, LLC will build a new $4 million bottling line at its 102,000 sq. ft. facility in Smyth County, Virginia. The new bottling line will create 40 new jobs in a county that has the 10th highest unemployment rate in the State.

The updated facility will soon become LEED certified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Roger Catarino, President and CEO of First Fruits, says, “Our facility will have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any beverage manufacturing facility in the world. First Fruits has partnered with McQuay International and is installing a Hybrid Cooling system that recaptures up to 70% of energy that otherwise would have been lost. This plant will be a model in the beverage industry, and we are proud to be located in Marion, VA.”

The new bottling line will be Organic and Kosher certified and will allow First Fruits to bottle “hot fill” and “cold fill” products. The ability to bottle “hot fill” products – products that are heated before bottling to remove impurities – will give First Fruits a unique marketing niche. Catrino says, “Our product line will consist of “functional” beverages. These products include organic teas, vitamin enhanced and flavored waters and sports drinks. All will have low or no sugar content and will promote a healthy lifestyle.” Some of the customers that First Fruits will serve include: Honest Tea, Skinny Water, and Gold Coast.

NCIF’s $250,000 investment will enable the company to purchase a “spin labeler,” a powerful marketing tool that prints an additional label that rotates to reveal information contained on the label below.

The project will create 40 new jobs for a community that really needs them. First Fruits’ Chairman, Ernie Sullins, says, “We want to create a family-type atmosphere at First Fruits. We want our employees to enjoy coming to work. It’s not going to be a chore to work for First Fruits, but it will be a privilege.”

According to Joe Brouse, NCIF Business Lender, “The First Fruits project is the perfect example of hitting the ‘Triple-Bottom-Line’ – an investment that promotes sustainable business, organic bottling, LEED certification, and job creation in Appalachia.”